Congressman Bright's Statement on the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act of 2009

Statement

Congressman Bright's Statement on the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act of 2009

"Tonight I voted against the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, better known as Cap and Trade. There are many reasons I oppose this bill, but in short I cannot vote for any legislation that puts an additional economic burden on my constituents, especially during a recession. This bill will raise energy costs for consumers, small businesses, and farmers with no guarantee that it will achieve its goal of reducing the impact of global climate change. Frankly, it's a gamble I'm not willing to take at this time.

"In May, I signed a bipartisan letter with the entire Alabama House delegation outlining our concerns about the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) provision in the bill. We have an abundance of nuclear and hydroelectric power- both clean energy sources- in Alabama that cannot be counted towards the RES. Unfortunately, this omission will put us at a competitive disadvantage to other states.

"Though I appreciate the efforts of Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson and other rural Members of Congress to make improvements to this bill, these changes still do not go far enough to alleviate my concerns. Judging from calls and input from my constituents, they feel the same way. They are overwhelmingly opposed to this legislation.

"Finally, the ACES is a major change in energy policy that will impact our country for decades to come. It is 1,200 pages long, and the final version was not completed until just a few days ago. There is absolutely no reason this process should be rushed for the sake of some artificial deadline. I hope that the Senate will slow down the process and, at the very least, make some improvements to this legislation."

H.R. 2454 passed the House by a 219-212 margin. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

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